The same specialties typically get ranked at the top of annual compensation surveys year after year. This analysis factors in hours on the job.
Annual compensation surveys across physician specialties get a lot of attention every year. And it’s understandable. Physicians are competitive by nature. It’s natural to be curious about what your colleagues are potentially earning.
But burnout and work-life balance are important considerations too. That is why we calculated an average hourly rate by specialty, using the numbers from the latest Medscape Compensation Report, and average hours worked from the same Medscape report.
With the shift in employment models, the updated estimate of hours worked per week in the Medscape report were lower than some previous estimates from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Keep in mind, there can be significant variation both in hours worked and in the salary figures based on practice type, location and more.
Our estimates assume 3 weeks of vacation and 49 weeks of work per year. We are displaying all the data so you can estimate your own hourly rate.
Editor's Note: the figures for Neurosurgery come from Doximity's annual compensation report and historical work hours reported. Neurosurgery was not broken out in the Medscape report.
Observations and takeaways
- It’s not surprising to see specialists, particularly surgical specialties at the top of the list and primary care specialties towards the bottom.
- General surgeons and critical care specialists are logging long hours and ranking in the middle tier of hourly rate.
- Dermatologists are in the sweet spot with good work-life balance and strong income. Not surprisingly, it’s one of the most competitive fields to get into.
- PCPs are working hard for less monetary reward: a surprise to no one.
But it’s not about the money
Despite the variations in income, most physicians still say they did not choose medicine for the monetary rewards. In recent surveys, when asked whether they would still choose their same specialty if they had to do it again, the answers range.
More than 95% of plastic surgeons, urologists and orthopedic surgeons would repeat their choice of specialty. That number drops to roughly two-thirds of PCPs.
